News & Stories

Celebrating independent radio in Ireland

January 2026:  Ireland’s independent radio station have been providing choice for listeners since 1989 when licensed and regulated competition in the broadcast arena was introduced.

The sector is celebrating the role it has played in the history of radio in Ireland at a conference in Cork at the end of this month.

Radio broadcasting had been in place since 1925, but the advent of independent broadcasting meant that listeners for the first time had options in Ireland in terms of national and local broadcasting.  That has continued and expanded since, with innovative radio stations providing services throughout Ireland, each tailored to reflect and respond to listener’s needs and interests.

Key services offered by the independent radio sector are news and current affairs coverage overseen by each individual station editor-in-chief, wide-ranging discussion programmes, plays of a wide range of music genres including by Irish traditional and break-through artists, local and national sports coverage, extensive content on cultural and social affairs, and Cláir Ghaeilge.

Crucially Ireland independent stations provide connection, banter and companionship for listeners, and a vital emergency information service during weather or other types of crisis.  Radio listeners do not need  to sign contracts, have broadband or to navigate pay-walls or cookie systems to listen in. Radio is always-on and available to anyone, and is highly reliable during storms.

The independent radio sector contributes over 146 million euro to the Irish economy through payroll for employees, tax, rates and purchases of goods and services.  The sector employs over 1,000 people in all regions and invests over 3.5 million euro annually in vital masts and transmission infrastructure.  The sector provides high quality training and careers for people from all backgrounds and is very inclusive and open.

The sector has a very strong track record of providing fair, accurate and balanced information to listeners and its complies fully with all applicable regulations and laws.

Radio has strong benefits for advertisers because it is a trusted medium which the vast majority of the population listen into daily, according to independent research (over 80% per of the population listen to radio each day, according to the latest JNLR survey).  People listen into radio at the same times, and a large proportion of listening is in vehicles.  Radio cannot be skipped or scrolled through and notices or ads make an impression.

Vital emergency communications services for radio listeners 

December 2025:   Great advice here from Ireland’s Office of Emergency Planning and gov.ie:

‘Remember you may not have power, so it’s important to keep a battery-operated radio.’

Our stations will be providing the latest essential information throughout #StormBram. Very often broadband and mobile signals go down in storms but our radio network stays up. If you have a battery radio or a wind-up radio you will be able to tune in and have key information on your area.

Well done to our station colleagues for their work and to the ESB Networks , Uisce Éireann Irish Water, local government employees and Civil Defence volunteers all over Ireland who will be out there getting services back up and running. Stay safe.

https://lnkd.in/eX-maKTS

Positive meeting with European Commissioner

November 2025:  The Independent Broadcasters of Ireland was very grateful for the opportunity to meet with European Commissioner Michael McGrath, whose responsibilities span the most fundamental issues for citizens across Europe including Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection.

We were able discuss the essential and trusted services our independent radio sector provides and the opportunities presented by the comprehensive European Democracy Shield which the Commissioner launched recently. Matters discussed included preserving trusted services, developing societal and media resilience, and protecting prominent access and findability for citizens to radio on vehicle dashboards, digital devices and platforms.

We in IBI were very impressed by the engagement and knowledge and commitment of the Commissioner and his team across all of the areas raised.

Pictured below with Commissioner McGrath are Chris Doyle, Board Member, IBI and CEO of Bauer Media Audio Ireland; Michael Kelly FPRII, Chief Executive, IBI; and John Purcell, Chair, IBI and CEO of KCLR96FM.

Innovative and interesting research

November 2025:  Connection, community, context and content – it was great to see some really interesting insights into the fundamental strength of radio at the “Sound Affects: The Power of Audio” presentation of research by dentsu and overview by Onic today. Well done to Dael Wood, Zsofi Toth, Brian McCarthy, Mark Cunning, Niamh O’Reilly and Luke Delaney and everyone involved. Radio and audio have roles throughout the day. They help people manage mood and they remain evergreen parts of our busy lifestyles. A huge percentage of people listen to music on radio in their cars. This longitudinal research has such useful information for people in the radio, audio and advertising sectors.

IMRO Radio awards honour best of Irish radio

October 2025:  The IMRO Radio Awards celebrates the art and skill of radio production and programming.

Th latest IMRO Radio Awards took place on Friday 3rd October at the Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny, bringing together broadcasters from across Ireland to recognise another standout year in radio.

Hosted by Dermot Whelan, the 2025 event celebrated achievements in news, music, sport, current affairs, entertainment and innovation, with winners announced in 42 categories.

Chair of the IMRO Radio Awards committee, Chris Doyle, said the standard this year had been “exceptional”, adding that it was a privilege to celebrate the “talent, passion, and dedication that make our industry so vibrant.”

The ceremony featured the largest number of entries in over a decade, reflecting the continued strength and creativity of radio across Ireland and its vital role in connecting audiences.

The evening also honoured three new inductees to the Hall of Fame – John Bowman (RTÉ), Fr. Brian D’Arcy (BBC Radio Ulster) and Scott Williams (ONIC) – for their outstanding contribution and lifelong dedication to Irish broadcasting.

We are very grateful for the support of IMRO and Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland’s media regulator, as sponsors.

The winners for 2025 are here:  https://www.imroradioawards.ie/winners-2025/

Music on Irish radio 

October 2025:  Extensive plays of Irish music take place annually on Irish radio and the sector is a major backed of current and breakthrough Irish talent.

Most stations have dedicated nightly or weekly opportunities to showcase the work of Irish musicians and songwriters.

The independent radio sector plays its role highly successfully each year through Irish Music Month which involves all stations organising recording sessions and heats locally, leading up to an Irish music Local Hero regionally and nationally who receives extensive plays. This is now backed up by an Irish language music competition.  This is run in partnership with Hot Press and supported by Coimisiún na Mean through the TV licence and Sound and Vision.  

The record industry, copy-right industry, musicians, artists’ representatives, streaming giants, regulators, state bodies and Government all also share the responsibility for promoting and ensuring opportunities for Irish music with concrete effort and supporting the work of radio stations.  

Major award for leading broadcaster Scott Williams

September 2025:  Sincere congratulations to our colleague Scott Williams on being added to the esteemed IMRO Radio Awards Hall of Fame honours list.

He was one of the top broadcasters awarded this honour, along with John Bowman and Fr. Brian D’Arcy.

Scott has played a pivotal role in the industry. Scott Chaired and served on the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland Board and gave huge service to the JNLR Committee where he was Chair for many years.

Scott has played a pivotal role in the development of independent radio in Ireland.

The first voice heard on the independent airwaves when FM104 (then Capital Radio) launched in July 1989, he has held many roles as presenter, Programme Director and Chief Executive during his career. Scott was involved in station launches for Capital Radio, Dublin’s FM104 , Limerick’s Live 95FM, Lite FM, Dublin’s Q102 and more recently Pride Vibes, the innovative LGBTQ+ service, for Wireless Ireland, now Onic .

During his term as Chair of IBI he espoused a policy of collaboration across the radio sector to achieve strategic objectives. His ‘Choose Radio’ marketing initiative paved the way for the establishment of Radiocentre Ireland. The launch of the Irish Radioplayer app in 2015 marked the first major sectoral initiative between RTE and IBI.

Irish radio professionals gather for major event

February 2025 – Ireland’s independent radio sector gathered over for a wide-ranging and thoughtful conference, covering key trends and developments in the sector with contributions from 25 Irish and international speakers.

Radiodays Ireland 2025 saw well over 200 delegates gather from independent radio stations and from RTE along with all of the sector’s important stakeholders. It was officially opened with a very supportive address from the Minister for Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, T.D.

There were compelling presentations on challenges and opportunities across radio stations’ news and current affairs, music, entertainment and commercial operations. They covered a wide range of topics including AI, journalists’ safety, sustaining public service content, keeping radio prominent on devices/vehicle dashboards, resilience and motivation, promotions and advertising value, and ways of addressing media literacy.

There were presentations by John Purcell and Fionnuala Rabbitt MBA, Emmy award winning journalist and educator Steven Reiner; and radio futurologist and editor of Podnews James Cridland,  Andrew McLindon, the Director of Corporate Communications at An Garda Síochána; Radioplayer head of partnerships, Pedro Valiente Echezarreta and many more. Sessions were ably moderated by independent radio figures.

The event was organised by the  Broadcasters of Ireland, representing stations and their listeners, and the sector’s highly effective training body, Learning Waves Skillnet.

The biennial conference was kindly sponsored by Coimisiún na Meán, and the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO). Thanks to everyone who attended and who actively participated in the discussions

IBI representing 34 independent station and their listeners

January 2025:  The Independent Broadcasters of Ireland is a key stakeholder in the Irish media and cultural landscape, representing the interests of broadcasters and listeners.

The 1988 Broadcasting Act was a seminal piece of legislation in paving the way for the development of choice through licensing Ireland’s independent broadcasting sector. Prior to the introduction of the Act, broadcasting in Ireland was limited to the state broadcaster, which enjoyed a monopoly in radio and TV broadcasting in many areas of the country.

In July 1989, Ireland’s airwaves were opened and the first two commercial stations to go on air were Capital Radio (later to become FM104) and Mid West Radio.

That same year the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI), formerly called the Association of Irish Radio Stations, was founded to champion the sector and to promote diversity and quality of broadcasting to Ireland’s radio listeners.

The diversity of independent broadcasting is seen in the growth of radio in Ireland with specialist pop, talk, classical, country and youth stations now broadcasting on the airwaves. The strength of the sector is evidenced in the IBI currently representing the interests of two national radio stations, one multicity radio station, four regional radio stations and 27 local radio stations from across Ireland.